Siberia Burning

As in the western United States and northern Canada, Russia is ablaze. On July 11, 2012, more than 25,000 hectares (97 square miles) of forests were burning, according to the Russian Federal Forestry Agency. Most of the fires—uncontrolled wildfires in boreal forests—were in central and eastern Siberia.

Fires had engulfed 10,500 hectares in Krasnoyarsk, 6,300 hectares in Tomsk, and 2,400 hectares in Yakutia. Yugra, Sakhalin, and Khabarovsk also had large fires burning.

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Smoke from large wildfires in Siberia can be lofted high enough into the atmosphere for winds to push the plumes across the Pacific Ocean to North America. On July 8 and 9, 2012, smoke from Siberia arrived in British Columbia, Canada, and caused ground-level ozone to reach record high levels.

Finally, a large fire is occurring in our region now. It’s quite a few miles away in the northern Coast Range, west of Willows, Orland, and Corning in the Mendocino Nat’l. Forest (Calif.). We’re having our first bad heat wave this season but it should cool down a bit tomorrow. I recorded 104 degrees in Paradise. That6’s hot, but not unusual for us in July. Smokey says “Be careful!” Though I think the fire was caused by lightning, flashes of which I saw last night from here.